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A CurtainUp Berkshire Review
Outside Mullingar
By Macey Levin
Shanley, author of the award winning Doubt and Moonstruck has written a sweet but predictable play. It is both a romantic comedy and a family drama that has been seen in many regional theatres since its Broadway run. (>Curtainup editor Elyse Sommer's review The current offering at Berkshire Theatre Group's Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge, Massachusetts is something of a hit-and-miss production. Years earlier Tony took a loan from Chris and as collateral gave him a strip of land that separated the two farms. Muldoon installed two gates inhibiting easy access to Tony's property. The problem still exists complicated by the fact that Chris put the deed in Rosemary's name. She is still angry at Anthony because when she was six-years old and he thirteen he pushed her down and walked away as she cried. The developing relationship between Anthony (James McMenamin) and Rosemary (Shannon Marie Sullivan) is foreshadowed early in the play leading to a charming conclusion. Directed by Karen Allen it is effectively staged and well-acted by McMenamin as Anthony and Sullivan as Rosemary. However, the work of Jeffrey DeMunn and Deborah Hedwall as the older characters is sometimes problematic. All of them are some times difficult to understand amidst the thick Irish brogue, but especially DeMunn and Hedwall; they also have a problem with their projection especially in the first scene when involved in an intimate conversation. The younger actors, however, fare better in both the accent and sound. The play takes place in five dissimilar locations. The sets by John McDermott are cleverly designed, but on the small Unicorn stage the scene changes take an inordinate amount of time. To accompany the changes there are soulful Irish melodies play composed by Shawn Boyle. In the original run a turntable was used to facilitate the shifts from one place to the next. The costumes designed by Carisa Kelly inform the status of the characters and Shawn Boyle's lighting sets the mood of the various scenes. Shanley's dialogue and characters are interesting; the lyrical tone and the story of love realized helps to overcome the flaws.
| Search CurtainUp in the box below PRODUCTION NOTES Outside Mullingar by John Patrick Shanley Directed by Karen Allen Cast: Jeffrey DeMunn (Tony Reilly) Deborah Hedwall (Aiofe Muldoon) James McMenamin (Anthony Reilly) Shannon Marie Sullivan (Rosemary Muldoon) Scenic Design: John McDermott Lighting Design: Shawn Boyle Costume Design: Carisa Kelly Resident Composer/Sound Design: Shawn Boyle Dialect Coach: Jennifer Scapetis-Tycer Stage Manager: Jason Weixelman Production Assistant: Emma Montgomerie Assistant to the Director: Rachel Grzelak Running Time: ninety-five minutes; no intermission Berkshire Theatre Group's Unicorn Theatre, Stockbridge, MA; Opening: 6/19/19; Closing 7/13/19 Reviewed by Macey Levin at June 24th performance REVIEW FEEDBACK Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
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